Search Engine Optimization

Virtually every effective marketing strategy in 2017 includes having a proper internet presence. It’s just the way the world works. The problem is, there aren’t enough quality SEO services for small business proprietors out there.

There is a common misconception that SEO only serves large clients, at the expense of the small businesses that really need the help.

The marketplace is intensely competitive. In order to stand out and make waves, a small business needs to employ an expert SEO company. This way, they can use distinct marketing techniques to get ahead in ways that their competition may not be aware of.

Here is a comprehensive list of the most effective SEO services for small business owners:

Competitive Website Analysis

As stated before, the business world in the internet marketing age is extremely cutthroat and competitive. Small businesses without the necessary skillset can get lost in the fray.

You can also take advantage of weaknesses in your competitor’s SEO strategy. If they haven’t done adequate research, seize the opportunity to build a well-rounded strategy.

For example, a common weakness among businesses, especially small and locally owned businesses, is lackluster content. Many business owners assume that as long as their website adheres to commonly accepted SEO parameters, they will stand out.

But the reality is that good content trumps all. Creative, relevant content allows your website to soar high and above the competition. If your competitors do not have the strongest content, you can fill the void in your industry and become a resource for your consumers.

The more people that trust your website, the more that will visit, and the more concrete leads you will be able to generate. For small businesses, word-of-mouth marketing is a crucial asset, and it can sometimes be even more valuable than internet marketing.

But you have to build your marketing presence to get there. That’s where competitive analysis can be invaluable.

Keyword Research

Proper keyword research is the heart and soul of any SEO strategy. It’s probably the most important of the SEO services for small business owners. You should generate keywords based on your business and the services you provide.

For example, if you are a moving business, you want to be able to rank for a keyword like “moving company in (your city)”.

It’s important to rank for a diverse type and amount of keywords so that you aren’t following the exact same guidelines as your competition. Otherwise, it will be hard to stand out. You should try to rank for short keywords and long-tail keywords.

Longer keywords and phrases give you a better chance of ranking for the exact words that a potential customer would type into a search engine.

There are companies that can do keyword research for you. They will most likely use Google’s SEO analytics to determine what keyword list would suit your company.

It’s crucial that your keyword list covers those words that are common in your industry while also diving into a niche that may not be as widely utilized.

If you are marketing a product, you can use keywords to target a demographic that your competitors may not have tried to target. It’s all about doing your research and staying ahead of the curve.

Link Building

Having a number of high-quality links to other websites on your website can be a very quick and effective way to rise up the search engine ranks.

Within your content, link to credible sources or related websites that may be able to supplement information for your customers.

Do not link to competitors, rather, link to people, websites, and companies in charge of leading the conversation in your industry. The key is to build links to websites that will make your website look better.

You want to enhance your content with links, not steer your audience away from your product or service. You will be rewarded by Google’s search engine algorithm if you have employed high-quality links.

If you have a website that ranks highly while also providing your audience with good content, others in your industry may want to link to your websites.

The more of these relationships you have, the more visibility you will have and the better off you will be.

Optimization

Once you have the knowledge to build a great website in accordance with SEO standards, you have to be able to implement them.

For example, you cannot make the mistake of over-saturating your website with keywords. Not only will the quality of your website suffer, but you will likely not rank as high as you might think.

An optimized website features all the image tags, meta descriptions, and metadata that will take your website to the next level. There are set rules to optimization that can reap high rewards when followed.

But the important thing to remember is that if you have a good website with good content that follows SEO rules, you will have a leg up over many others in your field.

Optimization is key for long-term success in online marketing. But without good content, it doesn’t really matter how high you are ranked. If your website is poor, you will lose credibility. But an excellent website is only the first step.

SEO Services for Small Business Success Mean Little Without Accurate Reporting

For a small business, an effective website works like a sales pitch. It’s a chance to showcase your product or service in a tasteful way.

Because of this, you want to make sure that as many people can see your website as possible. Utilizing these SEO services for small business success listed above are key.

But once you have implemented them, you should have a system in place to track your progress. It’s important to periodically conduct an SEO audit, just to make sure that your website is performing correctly and steadily generating leads.

MarketCrest, LLC is an award winning, full-service marketing firm focused exclusively on Marketing Consulting & Services that drive revenue growth. Simply, we exist to help our clients compete and grow… and we expect to be held accountable for their improved performance.

We’re taking a deep dive into why PPC and SEO are a match made in heaven. Read on for the search knowledge you need to jump start your marketing campaigns.

Okay. You have your website live, your products uploaded, and tons of blogs to make your website Google friendly. But nothing great has happened yet.

Sure, SEO is important and landing your site on Google’s first page results is essential if you want more sales, engagement, or any other call to action you are hoping for. But why not combine it with another, equally effective method?

What is PPC?

Since we are sure you know what SEO is, let’s explain briefly what PPC marketing is. Long story short, PPC is an advertising model through which advertisers pay an online source to run their ads and direct traffic to their websites. The way advertisers pay for this service is actually in the name of this marketing model– yes, PPC stands for Pay Per Click.

When talking about PPC, many publishers automatically think Google Ads. However, since it’s 2016, every popular website or platform with millions of users (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.) allows you to publish your online ads.

The Benefits of combining PPC and SEO:

PPC and SEO can exponentially boost your exposure and make your product or service popular to online users.

Your conversions will increase so much you will not even believe it.

You can lead searchers to the content that you choose and you will not just let them click on that bad Glassdoor review that shows up first on Google (everyone has them).

More visits lead to a more involved audience. How will someone like your Facebook Page or follow you on Twitter when they haven’t even gone to your website yet?

And, last but not least, investing money on advertising, makes a company feel more legitimate. sorry to say, but it does.

Yes, you’ve guessed it right. Both PPC and SEO help your website shine and gain more visitors. Additionally, it can help “webpreneurs” promote their products/services and achieve more sales. After all, it’s a material world we live in, right?

Now, that we’ve finished the theory class, let’s take a look at four different ways to combine PPC and SEO to make your life easier and your income bigger.

PPC and SEO Keywords Matter

And, maybe, they matter the absolute most. One way to monitor what people really need these days is by visiting the Google Trends website and take a look at “what is hot right now.”

However, since you are running a business there is another, quicker and more effective way to help you understand what your audience really needs from you. Your website’s search bar. Yes, if you don’t have one, you ‘d better add one right now. Right this second.

This way you will know what content would be wiser to promote the most on PPC marketing and what SEO modifications you have to make in order to ensure these products are found first on Google results.

In other words, this way you will allow your own visitors and the keywords they use to provide you with the focus keywords you’ll need to keep in mind.

Very clever, huh?

Your Website Also Matters

Having a website is not even enough when you are entering the world of digital entrepreneurship. You have to create a website that both looks amazing and is modified for PPC and SEO purposes as well.

For example, according to Google, an important factor that the most popular search engine is looking for when deciding where each page is going to show up on results, is the website’s loading speed.

Is your website fast enough? Do you need to make some small modifications to meet the standards that Google has set? In addition, and again, according to Google, PPC rates vary and among these parameters is your page’s load speed.

Why pay 5 cents per click when you can have the same results with just 2?

Extra tip: Please make sure your website looks beautiful and easy to navigate in. You’ve got your visitor’s attention. Now, all you have to do is to provide them with a reason to stick around.

Test Performance

We know, the word “performance” may sound intimidating to any Internet marketing newcomer. But, to be honest it’s much easier than it seems. Monitoring performance requires you keeping your eyes open and see what your audience is all about.

An easy way to monitor your website’s performance is by promoting via PPC marketing different products, product categories or services to different kinds of people. Targeting specific demographic profiles is one of the most important tricks a marketer has to keep in mind.

You might be promoting your products to 25-year-old women who live in Minnesota, but no matter how niche this audience might seem, it will help you get your products’ appeal on them. If it turns out to be a mistake and this audience is not that right for you, you can just keep experimenting.

Makes sense, right?

So, after promoting anything you want to promote to different kinds of consumers, you will understand what each audience needs or what audience your website speaks to the best.

This way you will have the ability to make some more modifications in order to make your page SEO friendly and reach the people who will engage the most.

Target Different Keywords

Yes, you guessed it right. You can (and you should) target different keywords for PPC campaigns and for SEO purposes.

In fact, since some keywords are more expensive than others, you can target the cheap ones via PPC and work your SEO magic on the costly ones. This will save you some money but still help you succeed.

After this primer, you’re ready to jump start your search marketing with some PPC and SEO action!